Roaring in the Twenties

Now established as a Broadway musical director, Steiner would spend the rest of the 1920s living large—and often beyond his means—with New York’s most celebrated stage talents. He also co-orchestrated and conducted the show often cited as a turning point in American musical comedy: the Gershwins’ Lady, Be Good! starring Fred Astaire. This chapter offers a wide-angle view of the evolution of American music in the 1920s, while focusing on Steiner’s continuing growth as a musical dramatist. Particularly noteworthy was his skill at orchestration: by hiring musicians who could play multiple instruments, Steiner made his Broadway pit ensembles sound larger than they actually were. In 1929 this gift drew the attention of RKO Studios in Hollywood. The chapter concludes with a recounting of cinema’s rocky transition from silent films to talkies, and with Steiner accepting an offer to head west to join RKO’s fledgling music department.